The Medical Alley Podcast (Presented by MentorMate)

Scott Nelson has spent a good portion of his career in the medtech space. As a serial entrepreneur, he has helped start a number of different medtech companies. His latest venture, FastWave Medical , is developing intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) systems for treatment of arterial calcification. On this week's Medical Alley Podcast, Scott joins more to share about what makes FastWave Medical un...

Mental health concerns have been on the rise for kids and teens, and Bend Health was founded with the goal of addressing those concerns. Monika Roots, MD, FAPA, built on her experience as a child and adolescent psychiatrist to co-found Bend Health with her husband Kurt. Bend Health offers a family-based digital mental health platform to help children by involving their village in the care. Monika...

Envoy Medical is a pioneer in the world of hearing health. The Medical Alley-based company has been around for 30 years and is doing truly innovative work with its fully-implantable devices used to treat hearing loss. Brent Lucas fell in love with Envoy Medical as an intern years ago and is now the company's CEO. He joined us in studio this week to share more about what makes Envoy unique. Tu...

As one of the founders of Minute Clinic, Steve Pontius knows a thing or two about successfully starting and running an innovative healthcare company. After CVS purchased Minute Clinic in 2006, Steve has gone on to work for a few different companies. His latest, HealtheMed, is helping break down barriers to healthcare access for the Medicaid waivered population in Minnesota. Steve joined in studio...

Poor sleep has plenty of side effects — especially if it's a result of sleep apnea. It can range from more minor consequences such as feeling tired all the time to more major long-term implications like heart attacks. That's why treating sleep issues early is so important, and it's why ADVENT has continued to grow from a single clinic in Milwaukee in 2004 to 18 locations in the Unit...

Mental health continues to be a focus for many healthcare providers throughout Medical Alley, and Allina Health is no different. It's something that Allina President and CEO Lisa Shannon cares deeply about, and is helping lead the organization's efforts to create more access to mental healthcare for its patients. On this week's episode of the Medical Alley Podcast, Lisa Shannon talk...

Benjamin Zander is the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, and is the co-author of "The Art of Possibility." He has also a gifted speaker who had spoken to audiences around the world about leadership and awakening possibility in others. Benjamin will be the keynote speaker at the upcoming Medical Alley Summit on Feb. 8 at the Four Seasons in Minneapolis. Prior to his arrival...

When PRO-TECH Design says it's a family business, it means it. Pamela McMaster founded the company back in 1980 in California, and now her two sons — Aaron Swanson and Jeff Swanson — are helping run the company. Aaron serves as president, while Jeff is the company's VP of sales. The duo became the first set of brothers to join us on the Medical Alley Podcast when they stopped in studio t...

We had so many great guests on the podcast in 2023 and enjoyed all the conversations with leaders from Medical Alley who are all working to help make this region the epicenter of health innovation and care. Thank you to all of our guests on the podcast this year, and to all of you who tuned in to listen. As we look ahead to the new year, we first look back at the most-listened-to episodes of the M...

CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP) is a Medical Alley Starts sponsor and provides financial and tax consulting, as well as fractional CFO and outsourcing services. CLA offers a 25% discount to qualifying startups for the first year of working together. On this week's Medical Alley Podcast, startup principal Filip Kostal is joined by five experienced practitioners at CLA, a professional services fir...

The medical device industry is in a new era—the consumerization era. Historically, we focused on meeting rigorous requirements of safety and efficacy. Today, we must meet a new set of standards. Safety and efficacy, of course. But also, intuitiveness and sophistication. This has big implications not just for the devices you design but also for how you do business. This webinar, presented by Delve,...

In countries with significantly aging populations like Japan and parts of Western Europe, wound care is the third biggest expense to their national healthcare systems. As the population in the United States continues to age, wound care will be a very important aspect of the healthcare system. That's why Nima Ahmadi co-founded The Wound Company, a Medical Alley-based company offering virtual-f...

Keeping patients out of the hospital is the major goal of many policy and innovation experts. But sometimes it can't be avoided. Before a patient arrives, our Emergency Medical Services community intervenes. Challenges of policy and payment, as well as advances in innovation are transforming the pre-hospital space.  This webinar from July of 2023 highlighted challenges and opportunities in th...

Integrating biodesign principles can drive innovative breakthroughs in medical device technology. But what exactly is biodesign, and how can medtech companies utilize it to drive innovation? On this week's Medical Alley Podcast, Greg Johnson of Veranex and Todd Brinton of Edwards Lifesciences join to share more about biodesign and how they've utilized it at their respective organizations...

November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, so we're joined by Dr. Andrew Mayo of St. Croix Hospice to learn more about how hospice care fits into the healthcare continuum. As the  Chief Medical Officer at St. Croix Hospice, Dr. Mayo — great grandson of one of the Mayo brothers — knows how important hospice can be to patients at the end of their lives. In this episode of the Medic...

Healthcare companies are continuing to explore ways in which artificial intelligence can be used to deliver better care to patients and to ease workflow. But bringing AI from the bench to the bedside can be a challenge. That's where Lucem Health comes in. Born as a spinout of Mayo Clinic and Mayo Clinic Platform, Lucem Health is helping accelerate the detection of disease through the applicat...

Throughout the course of this year, the Medical Alley Podcast has shared different stories of member companies who are doing innovative work in pain management. This week’s episode continues that conversation, as we’re joined by Maria Bennett, President, CEO and Founder of SPR Therapeutics.  Maria first had the idea for SPR Therapeutics’ proprietary technology — a non-opioid, minimally invasive wa...

When it comes to funding for cancer research, funding for childhood cancers is far behind what is spent on adult cancers. The Children's Cancer Research Fund focuses exclusively on supporting research that can have the biggest impact on ending children's cancers. On this week's Medical Alley Podcast episode, Jean Machart joins in studio to share more about the work of the Children&a...

Children's Minnesota is the only healthcare system in Minnesota that cares exclusively for children. That's why they're able to call themselves The Kid Experts®. In recent months, Children's Minnesota has rolled out new technologies and new offerings that have enhanced its already robust level of care it can offer its patients. On this special episode of the Medical Alley Podca...

Ear infections are a common ailment among children, but the process of putting tubes in kids' ears can be intimidating for families. Thanks to Medical Alley member company Preceptis and its Hummingbird procedure, the ear tube procedure takes just a matter of minutes and doesn't require anesthesia. On this week's Medical Alley Podcast, we talk with Dr. Ted Truitt of St. Cloud Ear, No...

Get your free MD&M expo pass and learn more about the event at advancedmanufacturingminneapolis.com. Send us a message! Follow Medical Alley on social media on LinkedIn , Facebook , X and Instagram . 

In the final episode of our three-part series in partnership with the Association of Black Cardiologists and the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association, we welcome Dr. Yvonne Commodore-Mensah and Dr. Tiffany Powell-Wiley to the podcast for a conversation about obesity in America and the role that social determinants of health play in the epidemic. Dr. Commodore-Mensah and Dr. Powell-Wiley sh...

As we continue our podcast series with the Association of Black Cardiologists and the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association, we turn the focus to the workforce. On the second episode of this three-part series, Nikki Akparewa and Dr. Michelle Johnson join Frank Jaskulke to discuss the increasing strain on an already strained healthcare workforce — and its impact on providers of color. Send u...

We have once again partnered with the Association of Black Cardiologists and the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association for a three-part content series. This year's collaboration is a three-episode podcast series. Today's first episode features special guests Sam Hoeffler of Reinvestment Partners and Dr. Rimsky Denis, a structural and interventional cardiologist, as they join our F...

Earlier this year, Denny Royal of MentorMate wrote an article that asked the question: Is digital health dead? (Spoiler alert: it's not.) Denny joined in studio for this week's episode of the Medical Alley Podcast to discuss that article and much more on the topic of design as it relates to digital health. Send us a message! Follow Medical Alley on social media on LinkedIn , Facebook , X...